I gasp out loud as I step through the door of the beautiful country hotel. My hands fly to my mouth in shock as I see the room is filled with my friends and family, my grown-up daughters and grandchildren at the center, gathered to celebrate my special birthday.



Everyone raises their glasses to toast me. I should be enjoying the moment but I'm on edge and I can't relax. Who organized this surprise party? How did they know I was going to be here?



Because I didn't come back to Burcott House to drink champagne and dance. Ten years ago, someone was murdered at this hotel. Tonight, after years of heartache, I planned to bury the past once and for all.



I look around the crowd of smiling people and my heart thuds as I see the frown on my eldest daughter's face and the way my youngest daughter is smiling widely but her eyes are puffy, like she's been crying. I think about the one person who should be here who isn't . . .



My family's secrets and lies swirl around my mind. Can I trust anyone in this room? Can I even trust my own daughters?



I was going to finish off what happened all those years ago but did someone else have the same idea? And will I survive my own birthday party?